Authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) have called on Ukraine’s the parliament to approve the draft law on areas with special status in Donbas

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Ukrainian lawmakers may adopt a resolution on a special procedure of local self-government for some regions of Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk regions in east Ukraine) this week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Monday.

"The National Security and Defense Council had a meeting Thursday. This issue was discussed among other points of the Minsk agreements," Klimkin told the Russian business daily Kommersant.

According to Article 4 of the package of measures on the implementation of the Minsk agreements, a law on areas in Donbas with special political and economic status must be adopted by the Verkovna Rada by March 14. However, the law has still not been adopted.

Heads of DPR and LPR Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Fracois Hollande to exert pressure on the Ukrainian leadership so that Kiev complies with the Minsk agreements.

Overnight to Monday, Ukrainian President PetroPoroshenko submitted a law on Donbas special status to the Verkhovna Rada.

Donetsk, Luhansk republics call on parliament to adopt law on special status

Authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) have called on Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (the parliament) to approve the draft law on areas with special status in Donbas, DPR and LPR envoys in the Contact Group on Ukrainian peaceful settlement Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego said on Monday.

"We express hope that the draft law will be approved by Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada as soon as possible," the Donetsk News Agency cited Pushilin and Deinego as saying. "’The party of war’ should not be able to use the adoption of the law for revising the ‘Law on Special Status’ and making amendments [to the law] that have not been coordinated with Donbas representatives," the envoys added.

"We stress that adopting the draft law without distorting the meaning of the Minsk package of measures will facilitate the process of peaceful settlement and create preconditions for mutual trust," Pushilin and Deinego said.